


You Blow My Mind

by orphan_account



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Cheerleader AU, Light Angst, M/M, cheerleader!wonwoo, footballplayer!mingyu
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-25
Updated: 2018-01-29
Packaged: 2018-10-23 19:23:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 12,652
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10725627
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Seungkwan convinces Wonwoo to join the cheer team with him.





	1. Speechless

"Hyung! Hyung!" Seungkwan yanks one ear bud out of Wonwoo's ear. "Join the cheer team with me!" 

"Why would I want to do that?" Wonwoo grumbles. He tries to put the ear bud back in his ear but Seungkwan just takes his phone away from him, earbuds and everything. 

"You said that you wanted to join a club and I found one we both can join!" Seungkwan says enthusiastically. 

"I was talking about the chess club or something, not the cheer team." Wonwoo says sternly, trying to reach for his phone but Seungkwan is not giving it back anytime soon. 

"Please!" He whines likes a small child. "I'll buy you lunch for a month. Like everyday for a month. I promise." 

He keeps jumping up and down like an excited puppy. Wonwoo considers his options. He could refuse to tryout for the cheer team, experience weeks of Seungkwan's nonstop whining about how terrible of a friend he is. Or, he could tryout and get free food for a month. It's not like he'll actually make it on the team anyway. Seungkwan might, he's all preppy and loves being loud. Wonwoo is the complete opposite though. He likes wearing black, he's an introvert, and he loves rock music. But he loves the idea of free food more. 

"Okay, I'll do it." 

Seungkwan screeches so loud that everyone in the hall startles and stares at them. Wonwoo doesn't even flinch. He may be a little shy but he could care less what people think about him and his friend who's always screaming at nothing. 

"Tryouts start next Wednesday, which means that we have a week to prepare. So that means you have to come to my house everyday after school so that we can practice for at least an hour!" Seungkwan waves the flyer in front of Wonwoo's face. "Meet at my house at 5!" 

With that, Seungkwan skips away merrily, leaving Wonwoo to wonder what the hell he got himself into. 

*****

 

Wonwoo is in his third year of college, but he's friends with a freshman. He doesn't really care because, to be honest, he hasn't made new friends since high school. He doesn't even know how Seungkwan and him even became friends. Seungkwan literally just came up and asked to be friends and it just happened. It's nice because Seungkwan does all the talking, and Wonwoo just nods along when needed. 

"I can't believe we just learned the whole choreography to Cheer Up." Wonwoo groans as he lies on the floor of Seungkwan's living room, having finished their first one hour practice. The choreography wasn't too hard to learn. They both got most of the moves down already. 

"I didn't pick it. The captain of the cheer team picked it for us. But I like the song, it's catchy. And cute. Like me." Seungkwan flutters his eyelashes like he's the most prettiest thing on the planet. 

"But it's just so... generic." Wonwoo scrunches his nose. 

"That's because you're a hipster and you hate every remotely popular song there is." 

Wonwoo ignores that comment, and proceeds to ask for what he is determined to get. "Buy me food." 

"Ugh... would it kill you to say please?" Seungkwan mutters. "You driving?" 

Wonwoo nods, grabs his keys, and they're off. 

*****

"I can't believe you chose this place out of all the expensive places that we could have gone." 

He's right, they're at some hole-in-the-wall ramen place but it's honestly Wonwoo's favorite restaurant. The waiters are nice, the food is great, and it's cozy. 

He also doesn't want Seungkwan to pay for an expensive lunch (dinner?) for both of them every single day for a month. He wants Seungkwan to have enough money for an expensive dinner at least ONCE each week for a month. 

The boys order, the food arrives, and they eat peacefully and quietly. That is, until Seungkwan sounds like he's choking and he punches Wonwoo right on his arm. 

"What the fu---" 

"HYUNG SHHHH THEY'RE HERE." Seungkwan quietly hisses. 

"Who are you taking about?" Wonwoo glances around to see three guys standing by the door, waiting to be seated by a waitress. 

"THE HOTTEST GUYS IN SCHOOL. OMO VERNON CUT HIS HAIR. HE'S SO CUTE. OH MY GOD THEY'RE COMING OVER HERE. HYUNG ACT NATURAL." Seungkwan whisper-shouts, siting up straighter and fixing his hair. 

"What do you mean---" before Wonwoo even realizes what is going on, he's being pushed all the way to the wall, 2 boys sliding into the space next to him. 

"Can we sit here? Thanks." One of the boys asks Seungkwan with a smirk on his face, as if he already knows the answer to the question. 

"Of course Vernon." Seungkwan bats his eyelashes and scoots so that Vernon can sit down next to him. 

"Um..." Wonwoo should probably say something like "no you guys can't sit here because I hate new people and I just want to eat in peace," but Seungkwan and Vernon are looking at each other like they're both seeing the sun for the first time, and although it makes Wonwoo want to puke, he still wants Seungkwan to be happy. And Vernon seems to make him happy. So he grumbles to himself as he shoves his face with more of his ramen. 

"Are you joining the cheer team Seungkwan?" Vernon asks. 

"Yeah, Wonwoo is joining too." 

Vernon finally breaks eye contact with Seungkwan, finally remembering that there are in fact other people seated at this table. 

"Oh. You most be Wonwoo, Seungkwan talks about you all the time. I'm Vernon." 

"Hey," Wonwoo waves awkwardly, his smile probably looks more like a grimace than anything but Vernon just smiles back friendly. 

"These are my friends Seokmin and Mingyu." 

Wonwoo smiles in their direction quickly, averting his eyes as the two boys next to him bow at him politely. 

"God, why am I so awkward?" He thinks to himself. 

After the other boys have ordered, Vernon and Seungkwan get lost in their own conversation, as well as Seokmin and Mingyu. Wonwoo doesn't mind not talking, it's actually what he prefers. 

"So... you're joining the cheer team too?" Wonwoo jumps, not expecting Mingyu to actually start talking to him.

"Yeah I am." 

He can feel Mingyu staring at him, probably expecting him to look at him back, but Wonwoo can't, or else he'll start stuttering. He's not good at meeting new people. 

"That's cool. Vernon, Seokmin, and I are on the football team. So if you end up making it on the team, you'll probably end up hanging out with us." 

Wonwoo stops chewing his food and stares at Mingyu. "What?" 

Wonwoo laughs, "yeah, the boy cheer leaders usually have to change with us. Since the cheer leaders and football players both practice at the football field, we'll probably see a lot of each other at practice and football games of course." 

Wonwoo should have expected that. He hates football players so much. They're obnoxious and always smell like beer. 

"Great...So I'm gonna have to mingle with you guys." Wonwoo's voice is laced with venom, a defense mechanism that he uses when he wants to scare people away, but Mingyu only smiles. 

"I'm afraid so." There is no trace of bitterness in Minygyu's voice, which makes Wonwoo feel bad for being rude. 

He never feels bad for something like that. But, he doesn't apologize, turning back to his food instead. 

If Mingyu knows that Wonwoo doesn't want to talk to him, he doesn't seem to care, because he continues talking to Wonwoo anyway. 

"I've seen you around school, it's seems like you'd make a good cheer leader." Wonwoo goes against his better judgment and scans Mingyu's face to see if he's teasing him, but his expression seems normal. 

"Why is that?" 

"You seem flexible." 

Wonwoo nearly chokes on his ramen. 

Why did Mingyu's voice get 3 octaves lower?  
Did he bite his lip?  
Was Mingyu flirting with him? 

His face is turning red, either from choking or blushing, and Seungkwan quickly thrusts his cup of water in his hand. 

Wonwoo gladly takes a sip, trying to ignore the way Mingyu is chuckling deeply next to him. 

"Well, I guess we should go." Vernon gets up and stretches. "We have morning practice tomorrow." 

Vernon reaches in his pocket and pulls out his wallet. "This should be enough for all our meals, and a tip." 

"Thank you Vernon." Seungkwan bats his eyelashes at the other boy, making said boy blush.

"It was nice meeting you Wonwoo, good luck!" Mingyu winks at him discretely. "See you later Seungkwanie." 

With that, the boys finally go, not before Mingyu bows at them slightly. 

"Isn't Vernon just dreamy?" Seungkwan says while staring off in the distance.

"Why didn't you tell me that you liked Vernon?" Wonwoo asks, a little hurt that Seungkwan has been keeping this secret from him. 

That question seems to snap him out of his trance. "I don't like him." 

"Then why were you giggling at all his stupid jokes?" 

"Cause... he's funny?" Seungkwan says like it's the most obvious thing in the world. Wonwoo would beg to differ, he caught at least a couple of dad jokes in their conversation. 

"You know he likes you right?" 

"He does?" Seungkwan actually sounds surprised. 

Wonwoo realizes that his friend can't be any more clueless. 

"Everyone says that, but I just don't see it. We're just really good friends." 

"He literally paid for all of the food we just ordered." 

"And???" 

Wonwoo shakes his head in disbelief. "You're helpless." 

"Let's talk about you and Mingyu shall we?" The sudden shift in subject makes Wonwoo nervous. They make their way out of the restaurant and to Wonwoo's car. 

"Don't think that I didn't see you blush because I did. Mingyu's pretty cute, you should talk to him." 

"No, absolutely not, he's a football player; therefore, he's a giant douche." 

"He's not though, you're just cynical and think the worst of people." 

Wonwoo can't deny that. "I'm just being realistic. Me and him probably won't get along." 

"You don't know that, he's actually really cool and he's nice to talk to." 

"He might be, but there's no way he'd be interested in someone like me..." 

"God, you know how much I hate it when you say stuff like that." Seungkwan sounds really upset, but Wonwoo isn't surprised, he can never get away with talking bad about himself when he's around. 

The conversation drops until Wonwoo is just a couple blocks away from Seungkwan's house. 

"I hope we'll make it on the team." Seungkwan's voice is filled with worry. "It's something I've wanted since high school." 

"Why didn't you try out in high school?" 

"I did but I didn't make it." 

That does something weird to Wonwoo's ice cold heart. 

"Thanks hyung!" Seungkwan jumps out of his car once they've pulled up to his house. "I'll see you tomorrow, my house, at 5." 

Wonwoo grunts in response, waiting until Seungkwan gets into his house safely before driving back home.

Seungkwan has always put up with his negative outlook on life, even though most people aren't able to. 

Seungkwan has been there to sit with Wonwoo in between his classes so that he wouldn't be lonely. 

Seungkwan never lets him talk bad about himself, he always listens the few times Wonwoo has had something heavy weighing on his mind. 

Seungkwan has done so many good things for Wonwoo, but what has Wonwoo done for him? 

The least he could do is join the cheer team, Seungkwan begged him anyway. 

It may be a dumb way to pay back a friend for all that they have done, but Wonwoo knows how much this means to Seungkwan. 

He also hopes that they'll make it on the cheer team. What's the worst that can happen anyway? Maybe Wonwoo will come out of his shell and finally make some friends. 

*****

A week later, after days of practice, their hopes are answered.


	2. Firsts

"I can't believe we made it on the cheer team!" Seungkwan is, once again, screaming at the top of his lungs. 

They both received a text message from the cheer caption, congratulating them and informing them that they passed all the qualifications for being on the team. 

Wonwoo will admit that he is genuinely excited. 

Earlier that day, while he was dancing the routine, just how Seungkwan and him had practiced, the captain of the cheer team was emotionless. 

His name is Jihoon. He’s the same year as Wonwoo, but he looks like he's 12. He's very small, but Wonwoo wouldn't mess with him. He didn't so much as smile at Wonwoo, or anyone for that matter, which definitely made the atmosphere more intense. 

Apparently, Jihoon did approve of his dancing skills, which made Wonwoo feel oddly proud of himself. 

"Our practices are from 5 to 9pm? Is Jihoon crazy?" Wonwoo whines. 

"It's only four days a week quit complaining." Seungkwan waves him off. "I gotta go. See you later hyung." 

"Where are you going?" Wonwoo yells after his friend, who is ditching him. 

"Vernon promised to take me out to dinner tonight!" 

"You were supposed to buy me dinner!" 

"I'll bring you breakfast tomorrow! I have to go or else I'll be late. See you at practice tonight!" And with that he's gone, ditching Wonwoo for a guy Seungkwan won't even admit that he likes. Whatever happened to bros before hos? Not that Vernon is a ho, it's just that Wonwoo is bitter and Seungkwan is his only friend. 

"Wonwoo!" He hears a familiar voice call his name, snapping him out of his inner monologue. 

"I'm pretty sure I'm your hyung." Wonwoo grumbles as Mingyu jogs to catch up with him, falling in stride with Wonwoo's long legs. 

Usually, Wonwoo can fast-walk so that people can't walk and talk with him, perks of being tall, but Mingyu keeps up with no problem. Mingyu's legs are longer than Wonwoo's, and he's also taller. More reasons why Mingyu is out of his league. 

"But I'm taller than you." Mingyu pouts in a way that Wonwoo refuses to find cute. 

"THAT DOESN'T MEAN I'M NOT OLDER THAN YOU." 

Mingyu laughs at Wonwoo's outburst. "Did I make you lose your cool, hyung?" 

"You need to learn to respect your elders." Wonwoo scowls. 

"I heard that you made it on the cheer team, hyung. Congratulations!" 

"Who told you that?" Wonwoo asks out of genuine curiosity. The only people that know besides him is Seungkwan and the cheer captain. 

"I have connections hyung. Anyway, I gotta go to class. I'll see you later Wonwoo-hyung!" Before Wonwoo can question him further, Mingyu turns in the opposite direction, lightly jogging to wherever his next class is. 

Mingyu is definitely weird, but Wonwoo finds it oddly endearing. He won't ever tell him that though. 

Maybe Seungkwan is right, maybe Mingyu isn't a jerk. 

Wonwoo knows that, logically, most football players are probably really nice people, it's just that his past experiences have told him otherwise. However, he pushes those terrible memories away before they can consume his conscious. 

As Wonwoo walks to his car, he convinces himself that he's fine being alone. 

*****

Wonwoo offers to pick up Seungkwan and Vernon from their date, because he doesn't exactly want to show up to his first cheer practice alone. After he picks them up from their dinner, they throw their practice clothes and equipment in his trunk. He drives them to the university's football stadium. 

"How was your date?" He asks the two lovebirds sitting in the back seat. 

"It wasn't a date." Vernon and Seungkwan squeak in unison. 

"Then why are you holding hands?" Wonwoo tries not to laugh too hard at how fast they snatch their hands away from each other. 

"Ah, to be young again." Vernon and Seungkwan have scooted as far from each other as possible, faces red with embarrassment. It's cute. Seungkwan is probably going to kill him, but Wonwoo has to fulfill his role of Protective Older Brother, even though they're not even brothers. He has a feeling that Vernon isn't someone to worry about, so Wonwoo has decided to change his role from Protective Older Brother, to Embarrassing Older Brother. Wonwoo vows to take that role very seriously. 

When they finally arrive to the stadium, Vernon jumps out of the car, stutters a thank you to Wonwoo, and runs away as fast as he can, leaving Seungkwan and Wonwoo alone.

“Hyung, you’re so embarrassing.” 

“You can’t say that you and Vernon aren’t officially dating when you just went on your first romantic date with him.” 

“IT WAS NOT-” Seungkwan takes a deep breath, trying to contain his frustration. “It was not a date.. it was just two friends… eating dinner…”

“...and holding hands…” Wonwoo quickly chimes in. 

Seungkwan huffs, getting out of the car and grabbing his practice bag before slamming the trunk and swiftly walking away from him. Wonwoo follows him, giggling at Seungkwan’s frustration and embarrassment. 

They sit on the bleachers, surrounded by cheerleaders and even football players, who are all chattering excitedly. 

For some reason, Wonwoo notices Mingyu sitting with Vernon and Seokmin. He doesn't realize that he's staring until they make eye contact, Mingyu smiles and waves at him, but Wonwoo looks away as fast as possible. 

“Please don’t sit next to me, please don’t sit next to me…” He chants underneath his breath.

“Mingyu! Wonwoo wants you to sit next to him!” 

Wonwoo has decided that Seungkwan is a traitor and possibly the worst friend ever. He glares at the younger boy, who only smiles smugly back at him. 

Mingyu jogs over and plops down right next to Wonwoo, much to his dismay. 

“Sup hyung, long time no see.” 

“Hi Mingyu..” Wonwoo says flatly. 

Thankfully, before Mingyu can talk even more, the cheer captain claps his hands to get everyone’s attention. 

"Listen up guys!"

The loud chattering immediately stops. That's the power of Jihoon apparently, Wonwoo wishes he could get people to listen to him like that. 

"I’m Jihoon, the captain of the cheer team. I want to congratulate those of you that have made it on the team. Our first football game is in three weeks, so that means we have to start practicing today. We will be doing cardio and weightlifting with the football players today, because we need to build up our strength and endurance. So cheerleaders, pair off with a football player and start practicing.” 

Cardio? Weightlifting? Pair off with a football player? Wonwoo did not sign up for this. Why couldn't they start off with a routine or something? Wonwoo wouldn't mind that. 

“Oppa!” A cute girl with brown curly hair smiles at Mingyu. “Want to be my partner?” 

There is a group of girls surrounding Mingyu, twirling strands of hair around their fingers and biting their bottom lips flirtatiously. 

Mingyu smiles and shakes his head. “Sorry, I already have a partner.” 

“Who?” The girls gasp.

Mingyu points at Wonwoo and the girls groan in frustration. Some stomp away, others even glare at Wonwoo, but he only focuses on not blushing. He fails miserably. 

“Want to be my partner Hyung?”

Wonwoo nods because why not? Mingyu is the only person he knows besides Vernon and Seungkwan and he already knows that they’re going to be partners. 

“You sure you can keep up with me?” 

“Is that a challenge?” Wonwoo may not like running or lifting weights, but he's definitely not slow or weak. 

“Yeah it is, you’re only a cheerleader anyway.” 

“Oh yeah,” Wonwoo huffs, caving in to Mingyu’s challenge. “Let's start practicing, I'll kick your butt little boy.” 

Just as Wonwoo starts to get up, he thinks that Mingyu will follow him, but instead he feels a hand wrap around his wrist, gently tugging him down so that he's sitting again. 

“What do I get if I beat you?” His voice is deep again, and his eyes twinkle in a way where Wonwoo knows just what he's insinuating. 

Wonwoo is a smart guy. Or, that's what he likes to tell himself. He’s never had people flirt with him nor is he himself good at flirting, but he knows that Mingyu is, in fact, flirting. All the signs are there; Mingyu turned down a pretty girl to practice with, every time they have talked he says something that has made Wonwoo blush. 

Wonwoo doesn't know how to feel about that, so he decides not to feel anything at all. 

“You get… a pat on the back?” 

Mingyu’s face visibly falls, but he quickly lets out a chuckle. Wonwoo is actually surprised to catch disappointment on his face. 

“Alright, let's go practice.” Mingyu quickly changes the subject, his mood seems to be much more serious now. 

Wonwoo follows him on the football field.

He officially realizes that pushing people away is what he does best. 

*******

“How… are you… so… fast…” Mingyu says between big gulps of breath. 

They just finished cardio, which consisted of intervals of sprinting back and forth across the field multiple times. 

“I always forget that I kind of like running.” Wonwoo responds truthfully, he's out of breath too, but not as severely as Mingyu. 

“You’re not even out of breath, I feel like I'm dying.” It's comical the way Mingyu is laying in the ground, arms and legs sprawled out like a giant star fish. 

Right now, everyone is cooling down, stretching and catching their breath before they have to lift weights. 

“Who is Jihoon with?” Wonwoo asks. The smaller boy is stretching with a man that is much bigger than him. Something Jihoon says makes the guy laugh, dimples prominent on his face. 

“That's Seungcheol, the captain of the football team. They’ve been dating ever since Jihoon’s first year.” 

“The captain of the football team and the cheer captain are dating? That's so typical.” 

“They're not annoying about it,” Mingyu sighs. “They actually compliment each other really well.” 

Wonwoo must agree that they are cute. Jihoon seems strict and maybe a little uptight, while Seungcheol seems more laid back. Opposites attract.

“Have you ever dated anyone on this team?” Wonwoo doesn't know why he's so curious about Mingyu’s love life, but Mingyu doesn't seem to mind. 

“I've dated like three people, but it was nothing serious. I haven't been in a serious relationship for about a year now.” 

The conversation drops then and they go back to stretching out their muscles.

“Have you ever dated anyone?” Mingyu asks. Wonwoo should have known that question was coming. 

“Not on this team.” 

“Okay." Mingyu continues. "Have you ever dated anyone that isn't on this team?” 

“No I haven't.” 

"That's interesting." 

"Why is it interesting?" 

"Cause you're hot, I'd date you." Mingyu says it so nonchalantly, that Wonwoo wonders if he's actually messing with him. He expects Mingyu to say, "just kidding, haha you suck" but he doesn't. Wonwoo should really stop thinking the worst of people. 

Mingyu is definitely flirting with him, there's no doubt in his mind. He could flirt back, and maybe he could get a boyfriend who's actually cute, sporty, and nice, but he just can't. His shyness always gets in the way of him doing things that he really wants to do. 

He should ask Mingyu to hang out sometime. Maybe it would be a date, maybe it wouldn't, but the important thing is that they would be able to get to know each other a little better. Maybe Wonwoo would be able to have another friend besides Seungkwan.

Wonwoo admits that having more than one friend would be nice. 

After a couple of minutes of consideration, he decides that he should just ask Mingyu to hangout and see what happens. If he says no then Wonwoo would accept that, if Mingyu says yes... well he'll think about that when the time comes. 

"Alright guys!" Jihoon's voice interrupts the internal battle he is having with his mind. "Time to do some weight training!" 

Mingyu gets up and jogs away, before Wonwoo even gets a chance to talk to him. 

He decides that this interruption is a sign, telling him that maybe it's not meant to be.


	3. With A Little Help From My Friend

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! I'm so sorry for posting this so late. I had a hard week of school and I was falling behind on my homework, but I doing good now! Thank you so much for your comments and support!

"You're so dumb!" Seungkwan slams his books down on the table with so much force that it actually startles Wonwoo, making him jump and almost drop the book that he is reading. 

"Um... good morning to you too..." Wonwoo is confused, it's too early in the morning for Seungkwan to be mad at him already. 

All he wanted to do was relax and read his book before class began, to at least get ahead of his homework, but he already knows that that isn't going to happen, based on the way Seungkwan is staring at him with his arms on his hips in disappointment. 

"You remind me of my mom when you stand like that." 

"Hmmm... maybe I should tell your mom that you're being a bully to a helpless kid." Seungkwan sasses right back at him. 

"Okay," Wonwoo sighs, putting down his book "What are you talking about?" 

"I'm talking about Mingyu! You were so mean to him at practice yesterday!" 

"First of all he's not a helpless kid, he's older than you. Second of all, I was not being mean to him." 

"Yes you were! Vernon and I were eavesdropping on your conversation and..." 

"Wait... you guys were eavesdropping?" Wonwoo shouldn't be surprised but he is. 

"Well you guys were stretching right next to us! Anyways, that's not important. You were being so rude to him!" 

Wonwoo knows that he's right, and that's why he doesn't say anything. 

"Mingyu totally digs you, he was flirting with you so much yesterday!" 

"No he wasn't." Wonwoo blushes, burying his face in his book before Seungkwan can see. 

Seungkwan snatches it away from him, with a knowing smirk evident on his face. 

"He was staring at your ass when you guys were running together." 

"I don't have an ass, so he definitely wasn't looking there." 

Seungkwan let's out a high pitch snort. "Then you were staring at his ass. Don't even try to deny it, I saw you watching him while he was doing squats." 

Wonwoo literally wants to crawl under a table and never come out. Was he really being that obvious? His mind flashes back to the way Mingyu looked when he was bench pressing weights, the muscle on his arms bulging and the way the fabric of his t-shirt clung to his skin, outlining his perfect chest that Wonwoo honestly wants to take a nap on. 

"Oh my god!" Wonwoo nearly shrieks in embarrassment. "I was being so obvious." He hides his face with his hands. 

It seems like Seungkwan takes mercy on him, because Wonwoo feels him sit down on the bench next to him. 

"Hyung." Seungkwan gently pries Wonwoo's hands away from his face. "Please tell me the truth, don't lie." 

Wonwoo nods in agreement, slightly nervous of how serious Seungkwan is being.  

"Do you like Mingyu?" 

Wonwoo knows the answer to that, he just can't admit it. Not even to himself, let alone his best friend. 

He does like him. A lot. Probably more than he should. But Wonwoo knows that once Mingyu gets to know him better, Mingyu will get bored of him. Wonwoo reasons to himself that someone as boring and anti-social as him would just bore Mingyu. Once Mingyu realizes that he could find someone much better than Wonwoo, then he will. Mingyu is the type of guy that could get anyone he wants, without even trying. 

He probably won't ever admit this to Seungkwan out loud, but by the way Seungkwan is smiling in understanding, he realizes that he doesn’t need to because Seungkwan knows him better than Wonwoo knows himself. 

“Hyung, I have to tell you a secret.” Seungkwan looks to his right and his left as well as behind him to make sure that no one is in hearing range. “... I like Vernon…”

Wonwoo actually pretends to be shocked, but honestly he is, because Seungkwan finally has confirmed the obvious. 

Wonwoo is now The Proud Older Brother because Seungkwan has finally told him the truth. 

“The thing is, I don’t know if Vernon likes me back.”

 

And Wonwoo is back to being disappointed again. 

“You are so oblivious I swear.” Wonwoo deflates in defeat. 

“Anyways, that is not the point. Vernon and I are good friends. Do you want to know why?”

Wonwoo nods. 

“Because I made an effort to become friends with him. That is something that you should try with Mingyu, trust me, he’s super friendly.”

“I can’t, what if he thinks I’m boring?” Wonwoo actually pouts. 

“Give me your phone.” 

“Why?”

“Because my phone is dead and I need to call Vernon for something important.” Seungkwan shrugs casually. 

Wonwoo hands him his phone, and if he weren’t so oblivious, maybe he would have figured out what Seungkwan was up to. Once Seungkwan is done sending his message to Vernon, he locks Wonwoo’s phone and hands it to him with suspicious smile on his face. 

“What did you do?” Wonwoo raises his eyebrows a he scrolls through his phone to find his messages. He clicks on the message that Seungkwan sent and nearly screams. 

The message says:

hi mingyu! this is wonwoo, I was wondering if we could go on a date sometime? :3 I think you're super cute and I would love to get to know you better! I would have totally asked you in person but you make me so nervous so I decided to ask through text! I'm free tomorrow, so maybe we can go on a movie date? let me know ~~ XOXOXOX  <3 <3 <3

Wonwoo makes a gurgling knows at the back of his throat because HE DOES NOT TYPE LIKE THAT AT ALL. HE’S NEVER EVEN SEEN A HEART THROUGH TEXT MESSAGE BEFORE AND HE REALLY WANTS TO THROW HIS BOOK AT SEUNGKWAN BUT HE’S ALREADY RUNNING AWAY SCREAMING “Let me know what he says! You’ll thank me later!”  

Wonwoo doesn’t even know if he can make it to his class that starts in 15 minutes because he’s about to have a panic attack. He decides that he needs to go to class because it’s chemistry and he can’t miss chemistry unless he wants a death sentence.  
He walks to his class in a daze and ends up throwing himself in his work because it’s the best way to keep his mind off things. 

By the end of class, he has calmed down. Already reasoning to himself that Mingyu has probably already rejected him because he’s going on a date with someone, cuter, funnier, and nicer than Wonwoo. 

Once Wonwoo has gotten to his car and sits inside of it, he fishes his phone out of his pocket. He sees a text message from an unknown number, and he opens it before he convince himself not to. 

I’ve been meaning to ask you out. Seems like you beat me to it. I’ll pick you up tomorrow at 8 :)

 

Those simple words should not have sent butterflies fluttering into his stomach, but it does. He squeals in excitement, letting his usual cool and cold demeanor slip away while he is in the safety of his car. Maybe he will have to thank Seungkwan later.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ya'll ready for a Wonwoo and Mingyu date next chapter?


	4. The Date Part 1

The next morning, Wonwoo wakes up sore from cheer practice that was yesterday. The team started to learn a new routine for the football game in a couple of weeks. That means they did not lift weights or do cardio with the football players, which means that Wonwoo did not get to speak to Mingyu. 

However, whenever they would catch each other’s eyes (which happened multiple times) Mingyu would smile shyly and wave at Wonwoo. Wonwoo would even smile and wave back, when he would usually just ignore anyone else. 

Besides being sore, Wonwoo’s morning is amazing. He's in a good mood, and he hates mornings. Maybe it's because he has no class or maybe it's because he’s going to hang out with one of the cutest guys to ever walk on this planet tonight. 

He reminds himself that it's not a date, that they're just two friends who are not attracted to each other at all. 

Wonwoo goes about the rest of his day catching up on homework and cleaning his apartment. He keeps receiving multiple text messages and calls from Seungkwan but he ignores them, it's payback for him texting Mingyu without his permission. The truth is, he's not even mad at Seungkwan. Sure, the message Seungkwan sent Mingyu was super embarrassing but it's better than what Wonwoo would have sent. Which would have been nothing. 

He looks back on his text messages between Mingyu and him. 

 

I’ve been meaning to ask you out. Seems like you beat me to it. I’ll pick up tomorrow at 8 :)

Was Mingyu really thinking about asking Wonwoo out? Even after all the times Wonwoo has ignored him and has been so rude to him? 

Mingyu is definitely unique. And sweet. And cute. And everything perfect rolled into a toned body with nice arms and big biceps. 

By the time 6:30 rolls around, Wonwoo has showered, put on his really nice cologne, and has dressed in all black. 

That's when he starts to become nervous. Earlier Mingyu texted him, politely asking for his address, and only right now has it sunk in that Mingyu will actually be here soon and that they’re actually going to hang out. 

He spends an hour and a half pacing, fixing his hair in a mirror, and checking if he has put on deodorant until there is a knock on the door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry I was completely MIA for so long! I've missed writing this story so much and I want to thank everyone who has commented and left kudos :)


	5. The Date Part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is told through Mingyu's point of view. This chapter is also really short, which I do apologize for. Thank you so much for reading!

Mingyu doesn't know why he is so nervous. He has been on dates before, plenty of them. Yet, he is sitting in his car, outside of Wonwoo’s apartment, rehearsing what he is going to say. 

He’s here 30 minutes early, which leaves Mingyu nothing to do but overthink and feel anxious. The minutes pass by slowly, which does nothing to ease his nerves. 

Once he summons the courage to step out of his car, he makes sure that his hair is perfect and that his clothes are presentable. He grabs the bouquet of red lilies before he locks his car and hurries to Wonwoo’s apartment on the third floor. 

Originally, he wasn't going to buy the lilies, but Seungkwan insisted that he should. Seungkwan even forced Mingyu to drive him to the store, so that he can pick out the flowers himself, but Wonwoo doesn't need to know that. He knows that Seungkwan knows Wonwoo better then anyone else does, so he trusts Seungkwan's decision. 

Out of his excitement, he forgoes waiting for the elevator and takes the stairs instead, immediately regretting his decision as soon as he arrives at Wonwoo’s apartment door slightly sweaty and out of breath. Once he has finally collected himself, he knocks on the door and waits, holding the flowers out in front of him. 

The door opens and he's greeted with a shy smile and kind eyes. Wonwoo looks chic dressed in all black. The black eyeliner that is lining his eyes would be overbearing on anyone else, but it serves to make Wonwoo’s eyes even more enchanting. His eyes travel from Mingyu’s face to the flowers in his hand. 

“You got me flowers.” He says matter-of-factly. “Too bad I'm allergic to them.” 

Wonwoo laughs at Mingyu’s open mouth and wide eyes. Mingyu should have known this was a terrible idea. He regrets even buying these stupid flowers. He regrets trusting Seungkwan. He contemplates throwing the flowers on the floor and stomping on them until Wonwoo gently takes them from his hands.

“Just kidding, I love them. They’re my favorite flowers.” Wonwoo’s eyes are filled with mischief but his smile sends butterflies through Mingyu’s stomach. He seems to be in a playful mood today. 

“I'll put these in water so they won't wilt, you can come inside and make yourself at home. It won't take me long to find a vase.” 

Mingyu follows Wonwoo inside his apartment, stopping in the living room to sit down on the couch. Wonwoo goes to his kitchen, opening cupboards and searching for a vase to hold his lilies.  
Compared to the dorm room that Mingyu shares with Vernon and Seungcheol, Wonwoo’s place is significantly much cleaner. His living room is spotless, and from what Mingyu can see from the couch, the kitchen sink isn't overflowing with dirty dishes. The benefits of living alone perhaps. 

When Wonwoo finally finds a vase, he fills it with water, and places the lilies inside, arranging them with a cute smile on his face. He gently sets the vase on the table in front of Mingyu. He then sits on the couch right next to him, not as close as Mingyu would like him to be, but it is only their first date after all. 

“So…Where are we going?” Wonwoo asks. 

“Hmmmm…” Mingyu pauses for dramatic effect. “It's a surprise.” 

“I hate surprises.” Wonwoo huffs. 

Mingyu tries to hide his smile but he can't. He finds Wonwoo not only attractive but sort of adorable, although he won't ever say that out loud. 

“Trust me we’ll have fun.” Mingyu reassures, even though he's fairly certain that any place with Wonwoo will be fun no matter what. 

“Let's go then! No time to waste!” Wonwoo’s random burst of excitement surprises Mingyu, but what surprises him even more is when Wonwoo grabs him by the hand and pulls him out of the apartment. Even with Mingyu’s long legs it’s difficult to keep up with Wonwoo because he is significantly faster than him. He can't help the giddy feeling that arises in his chest because of Wonwoo’s warm hand in his, and it doesn't vanish even when he lets go of it to get in his car.


	6. The Date Part 3 (ft. Vernon and Seungkwan)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is long and I'm still trying to get back into the groove of writing. Thank you for bring so patient, and enjoy!

The car ride to wherever they’re going isn't filled with awkward silence like Wonwoo expected it to be. They spend nearly the whole time fighting over the radio and laughing about nothing in particular. 

Once they arrive at their destination, they park, get out of the car, and walk. 

“Are you going to tell me where we’re going?” Wonwoo asks impatiently. “This surprise is taking forever to happen.” 

Mingyu laughs, his perfect teeth showing, and Wonwoo’s heart definitely does not flutter in his chest.

“We’re almost there, just wait a few more minutes.” 

They walk in comfortable silence for a few more minutes, passing stores and bars bustling with people, until they stop in front of a restaurant. 

“Reservation for two please.” Mingyu says to the hostess dressed in a dress meant for a red carpet event. She smiles and grabs two menus, quietly leading them to a table. 

Once they sit down, they order their beverages, and the hostess leaves to get them with the promise that she’ll be right back. 

Wonwoo looks at the menu, deciding what he wants, and then he realizes something. 

“I-I can’t pay for this. Why is this food so expensive?” He scrunches his nose in distaste.

“Don’t worry about it. I’ll pay for you.” Mingyu says, his voice muffled because of the menu he’s holding right in front of his face. 

“Umm… no you’re not. There’s no way you have enough money to pay for both of us. Do you even have a job?” 

“No…” Mingyu is still hiding behind the menu. 

“I saw this ramen place right across the street. We can go there.” Wonwoo knows that Mingyu isn’t exactly rolling in money, both of them being the struggling college students they are. 

“I wanted to take you somewhere nice… for our first date….” Mingyu speaks so low, Wonwoo would have missed it if the restaurant was any nosier. But he heard him. 

He ignores the way his heart sings and gently takes the menu from Mingyu’s hands, big round eyes staring back at him. 

“It’s okay, I’ll pay for both of us. Let’s go get some ramen. This place is for old people anyway.” 

Mingyu laughs as Wonwoo waves the waitress over, letting her know not to bother bringing their drinks because they’re leaving anyway. 

****

The ramen place across the street is a small and cozy, much better than the restaurant that Mingyu first took them to. 

“So, do you take all your first dates to fancy restaurants?” Wonwoo teasingly asks as they wait for their food to arrive. 

“Nope, only the hot ones.” Mingyu is joking, a proud smirk evident on his face, but of course Wonwoo blushes anyway. 

The waitress comes then, setting down their bowls of piping hot ramen in front of them and then leaving to tend to other customers. 

“Actually, that was the first time I’ve ever done something like that. The truth is, I really wanted to impress you because you’re like super older than me…” 

“Excuse me, I’m only 1 year older than you…”

“I know, but you look and act waaaaay older than me, and every person I’ve gone out with always thinks I’m immature and I was afraid that you would think the same way, so I wanted to take you to a really fancy restaurant.” 

“Okay first of all, I’m not that much older than you. Second of all, don’t forget that we’re both struggling college students, not 30-year-olds with set careers who have all the money in the world to go to fancy restaurants. And third of all, I’m fine going anywhere as long as I’m with you….” 

Oh no. Wonwoo did not mean to say that last part, it just slipped out of his mouth, and now Mingyu is the one blushing and smiling that cute smile where all his teeth show. 

Wonwoo decides that now would be a good time to dig into his piping hot ramen and ends up burning his mouth, prompting a loud laugh from Mingyu, which earns them many glares from other customers and employees alike. At least the awkward moment is replaced with Mingyu’s laughter and Wonwoo’s cries of pain. 

 

***** 

“Does your mouth feel better.” Mingyu asks as they’re strolling down the street side by side. The ramen was delicious, and as promised Wonwoo paid for both their meals, something he definitely wouldn’t mind doing time and time again. 

“It still hurts, I can’t feel my tongue.” Wonwoo pouts. 

“Want me to kiss it and make it better?”

“Are you flirting with me?” 

“Yes, is it working?” Mingyu retorts. 

“I don’t kiss on the first date.” 

Mingyu gasps, and stops walking besides Wonwoo. “You don’t kiss on the first date?! Guess I’ll have to take you out on another date then. Have you ever even had your first kiss?”

“No I haven’t.”

“Wait seriously?” Mingyu genuinely sounds surprised. “I know you haven’t dated anyone, but how have you not had your first kiss?” 

“I don’t know.” Wonwoo shrugs nonchalantly. “I’ve been on dates before but it’s never gone that far.” 

“Cute.” 

“Why is that---”

“OH MY GOD AN ARCADE!” Wonwoo nearly gets a heart attack at Mingyu’s sudden change of subject and burst of energy. 

“Can we PLEASE go to the arcade? It will be so much fun! Let’s go!” Mingyu doesn’t give him a chance to answer and grabs his hand instead, running while pulling Wonwoo along like an overly excited puppy. 

The arcade is filled with many people even though it’s a Thursday night. Mingyu is nearly vibrating with excitement and his excitement is rubbing off on Wonwoo. 

After they play several games (Mingyu losing all of them), they decide to sit down at a table to enjoy milkshakes. Wonwoo enjoying a good ol’ fashioned vanilla milkshake and Mingyu a Banana milkshake. 

When Mingyu gets up to use the restroom, Wonwoo is surprised to see him come back with a strong grasp on Seungkwan’s and Vernon’s ears. 

“I found them hiding under a table, eating pizza. They’ve been following us.” Mingyu laughs as Seungkwan and Vernon groan in pain because of his strong grip on their ears. 

Mingyu lets go of their ears and manhandles them on the chair across from Wonwoo, sliding in right next to Wonwoo right afterwards. 

“How long have you guys been following us?” 

“Ever since the ramen place.” Seungkwan admits shamelessly. “We were already eating there and we saw you guys come in, but you guys were too into your own little world to even notice us. We were gonna say hi but then we decided to follow you guys as, you know, chaperones.”

“It was Seungkwan’s idea, not mine.” Vernon is quick to defend himself and Seungkwan gasps, obviously betrayed by his boyfriend. 

“If you guys wanted to go out on a double date, you could have just asked us.” Wonwoo tries to defuse the situation because Vernon looks like he’s about to have a panic attack. “You guys are so weird and Seungkwan you’re a bad influence on Vernon.”

Vernon nods and Seungkwan gasps for the nth time. “I am not! And it’s not a date, we’re just two friends eating some ramen.”

“Yeah sure it’s not.” Mingyu says sarcastically. “But since you guys are here, we should play table tennis.” 

“I actually think it’s past their curfew, it is a school night after all. I think we should take them home.” 

“Wonwoo, it’s only 9,” Mingyu says nonchalantly, “I’ll make sure they’re back home by 12, that’s not too late.” 

“Seungkwan goes to bed by 10, he always says that he needs at least 8 hours of sleep to even function.” Wonwoo is always the one that has to deal with a cranky Seungkwan when he onlys gets 5 hours of sleep. 

“I’ll be fine. I only have one class tomorrow. Let’s play on teams. The football players against the cheerleaders. Please Wonwoo, it’ll be fun.” Seungkwan begs. 

“Fine.” Wonwoo will have to give Seungkwan a piece of his mind later for interrupting his date with Mingyu. But the presence of Vernon and Seungkwan however, does not stop Mingyu from flirting. 

When they’re at the tennis table, preparing for their battle, Mingyu makes an announcement after having a quiet discussion with Vernon. 

“Vernon and I have decided that if we win…” Mingyu and Vernon share some giggles, obviously up to no good. “Then you have to kiss us.” 

They’re both giggling, but something tells Wonwoo that they’re being completely serious. He isn’t sure if wants to kiss Mingyu on their first date, it isn’t like he hasn’t thought about kissing him before, but Wonwoo decided that Mingyu is really going to have to work for it. 

“Okay, but if Seungkwan and I win, then only Vernon and Seungkwan have to kiss.” Wonwoo feels childish but he really wants the two youngest in their group to realize the feeling that they have for each other. 

Meanwhile, Mingyu deflates in disappointment but they all agree with it anyway (except for Seungkwan). 

*****

Vernon and Mingyu end up winning by one point, much to their excitement. 

They ended up staying until the arcade closed, and now Mingyu and Wonwoo are sitting in Mingyu’s car in front of Seungkwan’s house, their faces pressed against the window, waiting for Vernon to make his move. 

“Do you think they’ll actually do it.” Mingyu wonders. 

“I doubt it, look at how red their faces are. They can barely function when they’re near each other. And they’re both in denial about their love.” Wonwoo sighs. 

Apparently Vernon’s version of a kiss is kissing Seungkwan on the cheek and running back to Mingyu’s car as fast as possible. 

“Vernon! Our agreement was to kiss them on the lips, not on the cheek.” 

“It would have been awkward if I kissed my best friend on the lips.” Vernon says like it’s the most obvious thing in the world. 

Mingyu and Wonwoo groan in unison, both hoping that their oblivious friends would soon realize that the feelings that they have for each other are mutual. 

**** 

Since Mingyu and Vernon dorm together, Wonwoo’s house is the next stop. Vernon stays in the car while Mingyu walks Wonwoo to his apartment door. Where they are currently standing right now. 

“I know that you don’t kiss on the first date, and I respect that, but I kinda want to be your first kiss…” 

Mingyu’s words should make Wonwoo cringe, but they don’t, in fact, he’s tempted to ignore his number one dating rule and just kiss him. Mingyu is sweet and cute and nice to Seungkwan. And his lips are pink and they look super soft. And he seems genuinely interested in Wonwoo. 

But Wonwoo makes up his mind, reaching for his house key and putting it in the lock. 

“Thank you for tonight Mingyu.” He keeps his hands busy unlocking his door, trying his best to avoid eye contact with Mingyu. “Let’s go out again sometime.”

“Wait!” Mingyu calls out, just before Wonwoo closes the door in his face. “There’s a frat party at Seungcheol’s house tomorrow, come with me, I can pick you up tomorrow.” 

The look on Mingyu’s face is one of disappointment, like he’s afraid that Wonwoo would reject him again. 

Wonwoo is certainly not one to go to frat parties, but he doesn’t hesitate to say yes, he would love to. 

Mingyu face lights up, and he pushes past his door to wrap him in a warm hug that’s probably the nicest hug Wonwoo has ever felt. 

“I’ll pick you up at 8.” He says as he pulls back to look at Wonwoo’s face. 

Just like that, the door closes right behind Mingyu, leaving Wonwoo alone in his apartment with his heart beating rapidly in his chest.


	7. The Secret

The next morning, Wonwoo wakes up to a good morning text from Mingyu. He probably answers back with too many exclamation points and smiley-faces but he can’t help it. Their date last night has left Wonwoo with a feeling he can’t describe, and he spends his whole day thinking about him. It doesn’t help that he’s going to see Mingyu tonight, he even spends all his time in class daydreaming about him. 

After he wastes his time in class, he goes down to the school’s cafe for lunch and some coffee. 

Once there, he orders a cookie and coffee and sits at an empty table. Normally he wouldn’t mind eating alone but he has too much on his mind, and he would love to talk to someone. But Seungkwan is in class and he doesn’t exactly want to bother Mingyu (even though something tells him that Mingyu wouldn’t mind spending time with him). But, Wonwoo settles with eating his cookie and scrolling through his phone to pass the time. 

“Can we sit here?” He hears a familiar voice ask before he looks up and sees Jihoon and Seungcheol standing before him. 

“Sure.” He aggress. Few people are in the cafe, and there are plenty of seats for the two lovebirds to sit at their own private table, so the question catches Wonwoo a little off guard. 

“You’re coming to my party tonight right?” Seungcheol asks as him and Jihoon sit down in their respective seats. 

“Yeah... how did you know that I was planning on going?” 

“First of all, all cheerleaders are invited to frat parties, and second of all, Mingyu won’t shut up about it.” 

“He’s basically told everyone that you two went on a date yesterday.” Jihoon says with a kind smile. 

“Oh,” is all Wonwoo can respond with. Jihoon and Seungcheol laugh at the blush that creeps up on his cheeks. 

“I’ll see you guys tonight. I have to get back to work.” Seungcheol gets up and kisses Jihoon on the cheek, it’s only then that Wonwoo notices that Seungcheol is wearing an apron with the cafe’s name on it. 

“He works here?” Wonwoo asks Jihoon while Seungcheol attends to some customers that have just walked in. 

“Yeah, he’s one of the pastry chefs here. He comes in early and helps bake some of the pastries. We’re planning to open a cafe when we’re older, when our careers are set. It’s been our dream ever since we started dating.” Jihoon stares fondly at Seungcheol and blushes when he catches his eye and sends a wink back. 

Seungcheol and Jihoon are so cute together that Wonwoo actually has to suppress cooing at them. How much more perfect can this couple be? 

“You better not skip practice tonight.” Jihoon says to him immediately after he stops making heart eyes at Seungcheol. 

“I never skip practice.” Wonwoo justifies which is true. He hasn’t been late or missed any practice yet. 

“Good.” The head cheerleader stares at Wonwoo, as if he’s thinking deeply about something, which makes Wonwoo shift in his seat uncomfortably. 

 

“Can I pick out your outfit for the party tonight?” 

“Um…Why?.” 

“Because I want to.” He gives no further explanation but Wonwoo decides why not, it can’t hurt to have Jihoon over. 

“Sure, why not.” 

“Cool, I’ll be over at your house after practice.” With that the cheerleader gets up, blows a kiss to Seungcheol, and walks out of the cafe. 

*******

Practice is brutal, between practicing the routine for the next important football game and cardio, Wonwoo and Mingyu have no time to talk to each other. Everytime Wonwoo steals a glance over at Mingyu between intervals, his eyebrows are furrowed in concentration. The next game is coming up soon, and Mingyu, as well as the rest of the football players, are practicing extra hard today. 

Once practice ends, Mingyu heads straight for Wonwoo, enveloping him in a hug besides Wonwoo’s protests of them being too sweaty for hugs. 

“I’ll see you tonight okay?” The unmistakable glint in Mingyu’s eyes is proof that he is excited. His whole demeanor has changed because he’s done with practice for the day. Wonwoo makes a mental note not to bother him during practice. 

“What if I changed my mind and decided to stay home?” Wonwoo teases. 

“Then I’d break into your house and kidnap you.” 

“Can you guys stop flirting, it’s gross.” Jihoon interrupts, his nose scrunching cutely. “And everyone is staring at you.” 

Wonwoo takes a step back, not realizing that he was standing nearly chest to chest with Mingyu. He glances around and sure enough, many people are staring at them, some of them even whispering about them. 

“You and Seungcheol flirt all the time.” Mingyu grumbles. 

“Come on Wonwoo, we have some business to attend to.” Jihoon says as he grabs Wonwoo by the arm.

“Where are you taking him? Are you kidnapping him?” Mingyu says in panic, grabbing onto Wonwoo like he’s saving his life. 

“Would you relax? We’re just going to hang out for a bit before the party tonight.” Jihoon is much stronger than he looks, easily pulling Wonwoo out of Mingyu’s grip. 

“Please be careful with him.” Mingyu shouts as Jihoon pulls Wonwoo further away from him. 

“Jeez, he’s acting like I’m trying to hurt you or something. He’s just nervous because I know all of his embarrassing secrets.” Jihoon somehow knows what Wonwoo’s car looks like and leads them to it. 

Wonwoo reminds himself to ask Jihoon about some of those “embarrassing secrets” later. 

****  
“Do you own any article of clothing that isn’t black?” Wonwoo has just gotten out of the shower to find that Jihoon is shifting through the contents in his closet and drawers. 

“I do. You just have to look really well.” 

“I’ve never seen a closet filled with so much of just one color.” 

“Black is my favorite color.” Wonwoo shrugs. 

Several minutes pass in silence until Wonwoo work’s up the courage to ask the question that has been burning in his mind. “Can I ask you something?” 

Jihoon hums, still concentrating on finding whatever he is looking for. 

“How many people has Mingyu dated?” Wonwoo pretends that he isn’t really curious about Jihoon’s answer. 

“He hasn’t told you?” 

“No, he’s told me that he has dated several people on the cheerleading team though.” Wonwoo misses the way Jihoon stiffens slightly. He is silent for a couple minutes, and Wonwoo thinks that the conversation has ended until he finally speaks up. 

“As far as I know, he’s only dated one person before dating you.” 

“We’re not dating.” 

Jihoon ignores that response, and goes to sit next to Wonwoo on his bed. What Jihoon says next takes him by complete surprise. 

“The person that he used to date… was me.”


	8. Forgiveness

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a tiny bit more serious than others. Thank you to all who have commented on this fic so far! Your comments make me so happy and give me so much motivation.

It takes several minutes for Wonwoo to process Jihoon’s words. He’s shocked but not devastated about this new information, although it does make the atmosphere between Jihoon and Wonwoo a little awkward. 

“We used to date in high school.” Jihoon continues after Wonwoo doesn’t respond. “We met sometime during his first year. Our relationship was good for the first three years. When I went off to college I thought it would work between us. I should have broken it off as soon as I met Seungcheol, but I didn’t…I was selfish and I wanted them both.” 

“The day he told that he was accepted into the same College as me… so that we can be together… was when I broke the news to him. That I was cheating on him with someone else for the past 6 months. That was the lowest point of my life, and I knew that I completely ruined the concept of dating for him. And I know that’s why he hasn’t dated anyone else since we broke up.” 

“I’m sure he hated me at first, he wouldn’t talk to me for months, but I didn’t blame him. One day, he called me and told me that he forgave me. That was the worst part of it all, that he forgave me so easily. I wanted him to scream at me, I wanted him to hate me, because I know that that is what I deserved.” 

Wonwoo processes all this new information with a heavy heart. He had no idea about any of this, and it is a lot of information for Jihoon to dump on him all at once. 

“You must hate me, or at least see my as a whole new person now.” Jihoon sighs, like he would understand if Wonwoo felt that way. 

“I don’t hate you. I just think you made a very terrible mistake, but I also think that you have learned from it.” Wonwoo completely means what he says. Cheating on your significant other is an awful to do, but he can tell by Jihoon’s tone of voice that he feels terrible for what he’s done. He seems almost disgusted with himself. Wonwoo finds it pointless to hate someone for something that they have spent years beating themselves up over. 

“Things are better between us now, although that doesn’t excuse what I did… I may not have any room to say this but if you don’t really like him, don’t lead him on, he doesn’t deserve to be hurt again.” Jihoon’s words hit him hard. They make him think about how he truly feels about Mingyu. 

“You don’t have to decide your feelings for him now, all I ask is that you decide soon.” Jihoon goes back to rummaging through Wonwoo’s cloths, the whole reason of why he’s here in the first place. 

“What was the real reason why you decided to come over today? I know it’s not because you wanted to pick out an outfit for me to wear tonight.” Wonwoo says as he relaxes on his bed. 

Jihoon thinks about the question for a while. “It was originally because I wanted to tell you about how amazing Mingyu is as a person and as a boyfriend. He hasn’t been interested in anyone, until he met you. And before you say “he’s not my boyfriend blah blah blah” I can tell how much he likes you, and how much you like him.” 

It’s not an appropriate time for Wonwoo to smile and blush so he hides his face in his pillow, hoping that Jihoon wouldn’t notice. Judging be his amused laugh, he definitely does notice. 

“Okay enough of this serious talk, I think I actually found something in your closet that would actually be flattering on you.” 

Wonwoo ignores that rude comment about his choice of style, and instead groans at the sweater Jihoon is holding in his hand. 

It takes several minutes for Jihoon to convince him to put it on and once he does he immediately regrets it. To anyone else the sweater is just that, a sweater, but Mingyu hasn’t worn anything other than black in years. This sweater is white, and it’s very soft, but the worst thing about is that the V-neck dips low enough for his collarbones to show. 

Jihoon gasps. “Perfect. Now if you put on simple black skinny jeans, and if I just fix your hair a little bit, you’ll be the perfect soft boyfriend.” 

Wonwoo groans but let’s Jihoon fix his hair anyway. 

“You look great. You should add some more color to your wardrobe…” 

“Do I have to wear this?” Wonwoo whines like a young child. 

“Wonwoo you look great. Mingyu is gonna love you in this outfit.” 

“He loves me even in my plain black outfits.” 

“Of course he does. But then again, you could wear a trash bag and he would still be crazy about you.” Jihoon rolls his eyes in feigned exasperation. “And just trust me. I know what he likes, and all I’m trying to do is get you a little out of your comfort zone.” 

Jihoon has a point that Wonwoo just can’t argue with. He’s beginning to wonder if Jihoon is some magically being that has figured out all of his insecurities. 

******

At 7:00 sharp, there’s a knock on Wonwoo’s door. 

“Oh that must be Mingyu!” Wonwoo gets up swiftly to open the door but then he feels a hand grab him and pull him back down on the couch. 

“Why are you so strong…” 

“Let me put this on your lips.” Jihoon says. Wonwoo decides that arguing with him would only delay the time that he gets to see Mingyu, so he allows Jihoon to apply the cherry chapstick on his lips. 

Just before the knocking on his door gets more frantic, Wonwoo yanks his door open, and stands face to face with Mingyu. He somehow always forgets how attractive Mingyu is, and it never fails to make him slightly breathless. 

But it’s when Mingyu steps even closer to him that his heart threatens to beat out his chest. 

“What’s on your lips?” Mingyu has that twinkle in his eye again, the one he gets when something in particular catches his interest. Mingyu can’t keep his eyes off of Wonwoo, thumb lightly tracing his bottom lip. 

“You look like your about to eat each other.” They both jump as Jihoon’s voice sounds from right next to them. Wonwoo nearly forgot that he was even here. 

“Oh… there was something on his lip and I was just wiping it off.” Mingyu stammers. Judging by Jihoon’s knowing smirk, he doesn’t buy it. 

“Do you like his outfit? I picked it out for him.” Jihoon asks smugly. 

“He looks great.” Wonwoo tries to ignore the way Mingyu’s eyes glide over his body, briefly stopping at his collarbones before they turn to Jihoon. 

“You’re coming with us to the party right? Do I need to stop at your house so that you can change?” 

“No, I have cloths at Seungcheol’s house that I can change into.” Jihoon shrugs. 

“Okay good. Are you both ready to go?” 

Jihoon and Wonwoo nod in agreement, quickly grabbing their things and following Mingyu out the door to his car. 

The car ride there isn’t awkward at all. Mingyu and Jihoon talk and laugh with each other, like they’re old friends, because they are. Despite what happened in their past relationship, Wonwoo can sense that there is no animosity between them. 

Wonwoo remembers back to the times when Mingyu would talk about Jihoon and Seungcheol. He realizes that Mingyu’s voice was never filled with any sort of rage or hate for them, he actually seems to really admire them as a couple. 

Mingyu is a great person, and Wonwoo decides that he really, really likes him.


	9. Dramarama

“You guys are here early.” 

“It’s 8, you said the party starts at 8.” 

“Yeah but it’s a frat party. People usually get here at 10.” Seungcheol is blocking the door with his large frame, laughing as Mingyu tries but fails to get past him. 

“Seungcheol, I can hear people. I want to go and say hi to them.” 

Wonwoo fails to not laugh at Mingyu’s whines. 

“You just want to show off your boyfriend to everyone.” 

They’ve been going back and forth with each other for 5 minutes. All because Seungcheol loves messing with people, especially with the people he sees as his younger brothers. Jihoon and Wonwoo stand back, letting the two play wrestle like two puppies, while watching them with fond smiles. 

Mingyu tickles him, finally able to slip into the house due to Seungcheol’s distracted giggles.

“He’s ticklish. So manly isn’t he?” Jihoon says sarcastically. 

“Wonwoo! Good to see you.” Seungcheol pats his back and then whispers. “Just to warn you, Mingyu gets super touchy when he’s drunk. Especially with people he likes.” 

Before he can answer back with a “thanks for the warning” he’s being pulled inside by Mingyu. “I want you to meet the rest of my friends. They’re all cool, I promise.” 

He’s just in time to catch Seungcheol trap Jihoon in his arms while saying “Sorry, cute people aren’t allowed here,” while the younger bursts into loud giggles. Then Wonwoo is being pulled further into the house. The house is definitely big. 

There are many people here, standing in small groups with alcohol already in their cups. Nearly every person they pass greets Mingyu with a high five or a bro hug, and he also doesn’t miss the way some girls’ hands would linger on Mingyu’s chest in an obvious display of interest. All the while, Mingyu is totally oblivious to their flirting, only smiling kindly and laughing at the appropriate times. 

They finally reach a table seated with people who Wonwoo recognizes as some of Mingyu’s friends, and of course, they are the loudest people at the party.

They greet Mingyu with smiles and hugs, as Wonwoo tries his best to hide behind him so that his friends wouldn’t notice him. But that doesn’t stop Mingyu from pulling him out from behind him and placing him right in the middle of the group. 

“I want you all to meet my friend, Wonwoo.” 

Wonwoo awkwardly waves as a chorus of friendly “hellos” come from all of them. 

“Wonwoo! We’ve heard so much about you. Have a seat right here!” A guy from football, pats the open chair right next to him. He introduces himself as Hoshi, and also as Mingyu’s best friend. 

It’s then that he realizes the amount of close friends Mingyu actually has. Wonwoo has seen him with many of them on multiple occasions. 

The next person to introduce himself is Seokmin, who Wonwoo has already met on the same day he first met Mingyu. 

Next is Joshua, who he recognizes from his Chemistry class, and his boyfriend Jeonghan, a fellow cheerleader that Wonwoo hasn’t really had a chance to talk to.

Next are Jun and Minghao, who greet him in accented Korean. They tell him that they’re both on the school’s dance team. Although they don’t mention it, Wonwoo suspects that the pair are more than just friends. 

Last to introduce himself is Chan, an adorable first year who is also on the football team, and who has gained the affections of the older boys. 

All of his friends are kind and very easy to talk to. So much so that Wonwoo already feels like he fits in with them. 

“You guys want some beer?” Hoshi gets up from his seat next to Wonwoo and heads towards the kitchen, where all the alcohol is. 

Mingyu takes the opportunity to quickly steal Hoshi’s seat so that he is the one that gets to sit next to Wonwoo. Although Wonwoo is comfortable around Mingyu’s friends, he’s relieved that Mingyu is by his side once again. 

Hoshi comes back with two cans of beer in his hands, giving one to Wonwoo and the other to Mingyu. He doesn’t look surprised that he stole his seat. 

“You can sit here Hoshi!” Chan says enthusiastically, giving up his chair so that Hoshi can have a place to sit. 

“You’re friends with Seungkwan right? What’s the deal with him and Vernon? Are they dating?” Hoshi asks out of sheer curiosity. He goes to sit down in Chan’s place, gesturing for the youngest to sit on his lap. Chan happily accepts the offer, but with a light blush in his face, Wonwoo notices.   
The rest of the boys are curious about the question too, staring at Wonwoo in hopes that they’ll find answers about his best friend’s relationship with Vernon. 

“Are you guys talking about us? I heard my name.” Seungkwan has suddenly arrived from god knows where with Vernon trailing right behind him. 

Wonwoo shuts his mouth as Hoshi asks “Where have you guys been?” 

“We’re not that late are we? The party only started 15 minutes ago.” Vernon says. “We were just getting ready at Seungkwan’s house.” 

“Have you guys finally made it official?” Hoshi asks. 

“Made what official?” Seungkwan asks in confusion. 

“Don’t play dumb, we all know that you guys like each other so you guys should just.. ya know… date.” Hoshi shrugs. 

The atmosphere around Vernon and Seungkwan changes instantly, and Wonwoo is definitely the only one to notice it. 

“I need some alcohol, want something Vernon?” 

Seungkwan attempts to divert the attention off of him but Hoshi won’t allow it. 

“Oh no you don’t, you have to come back here and answer my question mister.” Wonwoo can tell that Hoshi is only joking, but based on the look on Seungkwan’s face, he definitely does not find it amusing.

“What about you Hoshi? Did you know that Chan likes you, or are you just too stupid to notice.” There are a couple of soft gasps and immediate silence after those harsh words. 

Chan quickly gets up from his spot on Hoshi’s lap, and walks away with a hurt expression on his face. 

“I have noticed but...He’s just a kid Seungkwan.” Hoshi states, surprisingly calm with his words. He quickly follows after Chan. 

Seungkwan stands there with his shoulders slumped and his eyes fixed at the floor. Wonwoo takes that as his cue to quietly step in and slide an arm around Seungkwan’s shoulders. 

“Let’s talk.” 

Wonwoo doesn’t know his way around the house, so he’s glad when he finds an unlocked door that leads to an empty bedroom. He gently leads Seungkwan in, mildly surprised to see Mingyu following after them. Wonwoo and Seungkwan sit on the bed as Mingyu closes the door behind him, guarding the door like their own personal bodyguard. 

“Do you want to tell me what’s wrong?” Wonwoo asks gently, not wanting to push Seungkwan too much. 

It doesn’t take long for Seungkwan to open up and talk to him. 

“Ever since you pointed out that Vernon liked me, I thought I started to notice it too. We hang out all the time… and it wasn’t long before I realized that I like him too.” 

“Earlier back at my house,” he continues, “I tried to kiss him because I thought he wanted to kiss me back and he rejected me. He even told me that he’s dating someone.” 

Wonwoo and Mingyu exchange confused glances. 

“How can Vernon be dating someone else if he spends literally all of his time with you?” Mingyu asks. 

“I don’t know!” Seungkwan flails his arms in frustration. “All I know is that Hoshi kept bothering me about it, and that I accidentally told Hoshi that Chan has a crush on him, because I was angry, and now Chan probably hates me and definitely doesn’t trust me anymore…”

“Just go and apologize to Chan. He doesn’t keep grudges for that long. Hoshi has probably talked to him and calmed him down already.” Mingyu’s voice is kind. “Wonwoo and I can go talk to Vernon.” 

“I don’t want you to talk to Vernon…” 

“We’ll just talk to him and hear his side of the story.” Wonwoo cuts off Seungkwan’s whining. “We won't be mean to him or anything.” 

“Okay fine.” Seungkwan sighs. “I’ll go find Chan and make sure he doesn’t hate me.” Seungkwan gets up from next to Wonwoo. 

“Thanks for listening to me guys.” Seungkwan smiles gratefully just before he opens the door to leave. 

“Well, today didn’t go exactly how I wanted it to go. My friends aren’t usually this dramatic.” Mingyu sighs, sitting down next to Wonwoo. 

“It’s okay. It’s all just misunderstandings between everyone, I actually think all of your friends are great.” 

“They think you’re great too. What Hoshi said earlier, I mean I don’t talk about you all the time or anything… he’s just a liar.” Mingyu’s nervous twitching tells Wonwoo otherwise, and he can’t help but smile. If he had friends other than Seungkwan, he’d probably talk about Mingyu every chance he got. 

“Does this count as our second date?” Mingyu asks after a couple minutes of silence. “I mean we haven’t really gotten the opportunity to be alone in until now, but I think this counts as a second date.” 

“Yeah... I guess it is our second date.” 

“... does this mean I’ll get a kiss?” Wonwoo bursts out into laughter at Mingyu’s enthusiasm. 

“Why do you want to kiss me so much?”

“Because I like you.” He says like it’s the most obvious thing in the world. 

“I like you too…” Wonwoo does not hesitate to say it. He wants Mingyu to be his first kiss, his first boyfriend, his first everything. 

Mingyu eyes stop at his lips, and then a gentle, but firm, hand is on Wonwoo’s shoulder. Mingyu’s face slowly gets closer, and Wonwoo feels his heart beating out of his chest. Just before their lips touch, a door loudly swings open, so loud that they both jump and instinctively look to see the source of the noise. 

“OH MY GOD WHY ARE YOU GUYS NAKED!” Mingyu screams, covering his eyes with one hand and using the other to cover Wonwoo’s innocent eyes, but the damage is already done.

Seungcheol and Jihoon had emerged from the bathroom, both butt naked and a giggling mess. 

“Sorry, did we interrupt something?” Seungcheol asks sarcastically. 

Wonwoo can’t see them but he can hear the two boys cackling, at least someone is getting a kick out of this.

The room that they’re in is obviously Seungcheol’s, something Wonwoo and Mingyu did not know or notice because they were too busy comforting Seungkwan. They both regret not leaving as soon as they got the chance. 

“Don’t let us interrupt whatever you guys were doing.” Jihoon says and then Wonwoo feels a dip next to him, the indication of someone sitting down. 

“WE HAVE TO GO.” Mingyu screams, quickly pulling Wonwoo out the door before they both have heart attacks. 

“Oh my god, I’m traumatized.” Mingyu says once they’re safely away from the naked duo. “I have no idea why they were in the bathroom together and I don’t want to know. Are you okay?” 

“I’m fine. I think I have to wash my eyes out with soap though… or bleach.”

“This is by far the weirdest second date I’ve ever been on.” Mingyu laughs. “But definitely the best. I think we need some more alcohol.” 

They each take two shots of vodka (because they definitely need it) and then they’re off to find Vernon.


End file.
